Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar/61. Infinitive, Imperative and Participle with Pronominal Suffixes

by Wilhelm Gesenius

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§61. Infinitive, Imperative and Participle with Pronominal Suffixes.

a 1. The infinitive construct of an active verb may be construed with an accusative, and therefore can also take a verbal suffix, i.e. the accusative of the personal pronoun. The only undoubted instances of the kind, however, in the O.T. are infinitives with the verbal suffix of the 1st pers. sing., e.g. לְדָרְשֵׁ֫נִי to inquire of me, Jer 37. As a rule the infinitive (as a noun) takes noun-suffixes (in the genitive, which may be either subjective or objective, cf. § 115 c), e.g. עָבְרִי my passing by; מָלְכוֹ his reigning, see § 115 a and e. The infinitive Qal, then, usually has the form qŏṭl, retaining the original short vowel under the first radical (on the probable ground-form qŭṭŭl, see § 46 a). The resulting syllable as a rule allows a following B^egadk^ephath to be spirant, e.g. בְּכָתְבוֹ in his writing, Jer 45; cf., however, הָפְכִּי Gn 19; נָגְפּוֹ (so ed. Mant.; others נָגְפוֹ) Ex 12; עָצְבִּי 1 Ch 4; before ־ְךָ and ־ְכֶם also the syllable is completely closed, e.g. בְּאָסְפְּךָ Ex 23, Lv 23 (but in pause לְהָרְגֶֽ֫ךָ Gn 27), unless the vowel be retained in the second syllable; see d. With the form קְטֹל generally, compare the closely allied nouns of the form קֹ֫טֶל (before a suffix קָטְל or קֻטְל), § 84^a a; § 93 q.

b Rem. 1. The infin. of verbs which have ō in the last syllable of the imperfect of Qal, sometimes takes the form qiṭl before suffixes, e.g. בְּבִגְדוֹ Ex 21; מִכְרָם Am 2 (but מָכְרָהּ Ex 21) נִפְלוֹ 2 S 1 (but נָפְלוֹ 1 S 29), לשִׂטְנוֹ Zc 3, שִׁבְרִי Lv 26, Ez 30 &c. According to Barth (see above, § 47 i with the note) these forms with i in the first syllable point to former i-imperfects.

c Infinitives of the form קְטַל (§ 45 c) in verbs middle or third guttural (but cf. also שִׁכְבָה Gn 19—elsewhere שָׁכְבְּךָ and שָׁכְבוֹ) before suffixes sometimes take the form qaṭl, as זַעְפּוֹ Jon 1 (and, with the syllable loosely closed. פַּֽעֲמוֹ Ju 13), מַחְאֲךָ and רַקְעֲךָ Ez 25; sometimes qiṭl, with the a attenuated to i, especially in verbs third guttural; as בִּטְחֵךְ, בִּלְעִי, בִּקְעָם, פִּגְעוֹ, פִּתְחִי, רִבְעָהּ—Contrary to § 58 f ־ַ֫נִי (1 Ch 12) and ־ָ֫נוּ (Ex 14) are sometimes found with the infinitive instead of ־ֵ֫ נִי and ־ֵ֫ נוּ. On רדופי my following ψ 38 (but Q^erê רָדְפִי), cf. the analogous examples in § 46 e.

d 2. With the suffixes ־ְךָ and ־ְכֶם, contrary to the analogy of the correspending nouns, forms occur like אֲכָלְךָ thy eating, Gn 2; אֲכָלְכֶם Gn 3; עֲמָדְךָ (others עֲמָֽדְךָ) Ob 111, i.e. with ō shortened in the same way as in the imperfect, see § 60. But the analogy of the nouns is followed in such forms as קֻצְרְכֶם your harvesting, Lv 19, 23 (with retention of the original ŭ), and מָֽאָסְכֶם (read mŏʾŏs^ekhèm) your despising, Is 30; cf. Dt 20; on בְּמֹצַֽאֲכֶם Gn 32 (for בְּמָצְ׳), see § 74 h.—Very unusual are the infinitive suffixes of the 2nd sing. masc. with נ energicum (on the analogy of suffixes with the imperfect, § 58 i), as יַסְּרֶ֑ךָּ Dt 4, cf. 23, Jb 33, all in principal pause.

e Examples of the infinitive Niphʿal with suffixes are, הִכָּֽבְדִי Ex 14; הִשָּֽׁמֶדְךָ Dt 28 (in pause, הִשָּֽׁמְדָֽךְ verse 24); הִשָּֽׁפְטוֹ ψ 37; הִזָּֽכֶרְכֶם Ez 21; הִשָּֽׁמְדָם Dt 7. In the infinitive of Piʿēl (as also in the imperfect, see § 60 f) the ē before the suff. ־ְךָ, ־ְכֶם becomes S^eghôl, e.g. דַּבֶּ֫רְךָ Ex 4, and with a sharpening to ĭ פָּֽרִשְׂכָם Is 1 (see § 60 f). In the infinitive Pôʿēl, בּֽוֹשַׁסְכָם occurs (with a for ĕ or ĭ) Am 5, but probably בּֽוּסְכָם, with Wellhausen, is the right reading; the correction ס has crept into the text alongside of the corrigendum ש.

f 2. The leading form of the imperative Qal before suffixes (קָטְל) is due probably (see § 46 d) to the retention of the original short vowel of the first syllable (ground-form qŭṭŭl). In the imperative also ŏ is not followed by Dageš lene, e.g. כָּתְבֵם kŏthbhēm (not kŏthbēm), &c.^[1] As in the imperfect (§ 60 d) and infinitive (see above, § 61 c), so also in the imperative, suffixes are found united to the stem by an a-sound; e.g. כָּתְבָהּ Is 30; cf. 2 S 12.—The forms קִטְלִי, קִטְלוּ, which are not exhibited in Paradigm C, undergo no change. Instead of קְטֹ֫לְנָה, the masc. form (קִטְלוּ) is used, as in the imperfect.

g In verbs which form the imperative with a, like שְׁלַח (to which class belong especially verbs middle and third guttural, §§ 64 and 65), this a retains its place when pronominal suffixes are added, but, since it then stands in an open syllable, is, as a matter of course, lengthened to Qameṣ (just as in imperfects Qal in a, § 60 c), e.g. שְׁלָחֵ֫נִי send me, Is 6, בְּחָנֵ֫נִי ψ 26, קְרָאֵ֫נִי ψ 50, שְׁמָע֫וּנִי Gn 23. In Am 9, בְּצָ֫עַם (so ed. Mant., Baer, Ginsb., instead of the ordinary reading בְּצַ֫עְם) is to be explained, with Margolis, AJSL. xix, p. 45 ff., from an original בְּצַעְמוֹ, as וַֽהֲרָגָ֑תַם Am 9 from original וַֽהֲרָגָ֑תְמוֹ.—In the imperative Hiphʿîl, the form used in conjunction with suffixes is not the 2nd sing. masc. חַקְטֵל, but הַקְטִיל (with î on account of the open syllable, cf. § 60 g), e.g. הַקְרִיבֵ֫הוּ present it, Mal 1.

h 3. Like the infinitives, the participles can also be united with either verbal or noun-suffixes; see § 116 f. In both cases the vowel of the participles is shortened or becomes Š^ewâ before the suffix, as in the corresponding noun-forms, e.g. from the form קֹטֵל: רֹֽדְפִי, רֹֽדְפוֹ, &c.; but before Š^ewâ mobile יֹֽצֶרְךָ, &c., or with the original ĭ, אֹֽיִבְךָ Ex 23, &c., אֹֽסִפְךָ 2 K 22 (coinciding in form with the 1st sing. imperfect Qal, 1 S 15; cf. § 68 h); with a middle guttural (גֹּֽאֲלִי), גֹּֽאַלְךָ; with a third guttural, בֹּרַֽאֲךָ Is 43, but שֹׁלֵֽחֲךָ, מְשַׁלֵּֽחֲךָ Jer 28, cf. § 65 d. The form מְקַטֵּל, with suffix מְקַטְּלִי; before Š^ewâ sometimes like מְלַמֶּדְךָ Is 48, מְנַחֶמְכֶם 51, sometimes like מְאַסִּפְכֶם 52. In Is 47 רֹאָ֫נִי is irregular for רֹאֵ֫נִי; instead of the meaningless כֻּלֹּה מְקַלְלַֽוְנִי Jer 15 read כֻּלְּהֶם קִלְל֫וּנִי.

Also unusual (see above, d) with participles are the suffixes of the 2nd sing. masc. with נ‍ energicum, as עוֹנֶ֫ךָּ Jb 5; cf. Dt 8, 12.

1. שָֽׁמְרֵ֫נִי šām^erēnî required by the Masora in ψ 16 (also שָֽׁמְרָה ψ 86, 119; cf. Is 38 and עֲמָֽדְךָ Ob 111), belongs to the disputed cases discussed in § 9 v and § 48 i note.